It seems extremely ironic to me that here in the United States, where the country is continuing to plummet into trillions of dollars of debt, that the citizens have grown to be so entitled yet irresponsible at the same time. Can it be that a generation has risen up, almost an era if you will, that has just decided what's theirs is theirs, and they will get what they want? Well, in fact it has. It seems that the Millennials have taken self-interest to an entirely new level. In considering this topic, I searched other articles about Millennials, and I came across another Odyssey Online article by Dylann Lee McLaughlin called "Dear Old People: Millennials Don't Exist." My first thought upon reading this article was that the name itself proves that Millennials do exist. Millennials are known for disrespecting authority and thinking they know better, and the title uses a derogatory term targeted at anyone who disagrees with the author. Now, I certainly am not accusing every person around or in the generation of the Millennials to actually participate in the selfish and ruthless behavior, but I do have some specifics on those who are fitting the description of millennials quite well.
What are the Millennials? Well, below is a perfect definition given in the popular website, Urban Dictionary.
Although I was born in 1997, I could not agree more with this satirical definition that almost captures what Millennials are really like. One might ask, "Millennials can't be that bad, can they? What do they even do that's so irritating?" Well, my friend, if you don't know then you are one of a few groups of people: 1. The out-of-date folks who have no contact with these fiends; 2. One of the blessed families whose Millennials are respectable; 3. An enabling parent or grandparent of such specimen; 4. A self-centered millennial yourself. How does one identify an authentic Millennial?
Here are a few ways one may clue one out:
1. Overly preppy and demands to be the center of attention (oftentimes rich or pretends to be rich to gain status).
2. Goes on vacation/cruises four times a year around their schedule (not their family's).
3. Has had an iPhone since the fifth grade.
4. Never admits that anyone else could be right (even when facts prove they're wrong).
5. Is extremely picky about what they eat.
6. Expect everyone else to do the dirty work while they stand on the side and text.
7. Snapchats every single party or event so that their life looks better than everyone else's,
8. Spends all of their money to look good (expensive clothes and makeup) and hang out with friends without ever saving a dime.
9. Says they have a different best friend every three days or so.
10. Feels the compulsive need to "one-up" everyone else no matter what the topic is.
11. Lies about what kind of grades they get and what kind of stats they have in sports.
12. Has no regard for people with less than them.
13. Uses the phrase "if they don't try to hang out with me first then I refuse to try to hang out with them."
14. Tweets every waking moment.
15. Calls their teachers and parents by their first names.
16. Puts down other people to make themselves look better.
17. Puts in hours of work to make sure they have a good follower ratio on Instagram and Twitter.
18. Posts a full-makeup expensive-clothing selfie every few days (even though they took about 700 of them).
19. Gets Starbucks every day on the way to school.
20. Gets a brand new, off the lot car for their 16th birthday.
21. Spends $20,000 on their wedding.
22. Has a collection of shot glasses before they are 18.
23. Talks about how much they cannot wait to move away from their parents, who are the ones providing their college tuition, mass amounts of clothing, car and gas, and everything else they have ever wanted.
24. Argues with the teacher after class about their grade, then goes to their friends saying the teacher admitted they were wrong but refused to change it.
25. Uses Spark Notes religiously or has another student do their homework in exchange for something.
26. Is up to date on every reality show.
27. Doesn't watch sports the entire year until the tournaments, looks up random facts and pretends to have been cheering for a team their entire life.
28. Goes to parties 2-6 times a week and gets nearly blackout drunk every time.
29. Thinks that history class is pointless.
30. Thinks that they know everything better than a coach does, and when they disagree with a coach their parents try to get the coach fired.
31. Don't think for themselves, just go by what their parents say or what their friends say.
32. Don't pay attention to the news unless it's the top trending hashtag on Twitter.
33. Aggressively speaks over everyone else to make sure their opinion is the only one to be heard.
34. Receives a regular allowance when their grades and or work ethic show they need work.
35. Pretends to have vast knowledge in an area that they couldn't possibly know much about (especially when speaking to someone with real knowledge in said area).
36. Has absolutely zero consideration for a single other human being on the planet.
It seems like with this generation the kids and teens make more decisions than the parents do. What happened to parents with a back bone? Let's bring back good ol' punishments and maybe the people we are producing won't turn out so bossy and entitled. In fact, it is mainly the parents' fault that kids are turning out the way they are. The parents claim that they just can't get control of them, or there is no point in punishing them because they are just going to do what they want either way. Well I am calling for a stop to that. What is the point in being the adult in the relationship if you refuse to enforce your adulthood?
And just remember, these rules do not only apply to Millennials specifically, but to a few ages just before them, and all ages after them. Mix and match the "Millennial signal" to identify if a friend or family member is suffering from Maximum Millennial Syndrome today. Brace yourselves for the coming generation, the children of the millennials. And as television always prompts one to say, "Can it get any worse?"
